Gender and Leadership Style
Findings from a survey administered to 3,000 women revealed that six out of 10 women aspired to hold a senior level position (KPMG, 2015). However, only 30% of women were in executive positions at colleges and universities (Bichsel & McChesney, 2017). Studies have found that men and women have distinct leadership styles (Barbuto et al., 2007; Eagly & Heilman, 2016; Van Engen, & Willemsen, 2004). Women are known to be transformational leaders and men are known to be transactional leaders (Eagly et al., 2003; Johnson, 2018).
Leadership is about promoting change. As transformational leaders, women use motivation and encouragement to create change. They inspire subordinates to find personal value in the university’s goals. Subordinates are allowed to be creative, and independent. In return, subordinates have high confidence and are committed to achieving the long-term goals of the institution.
Four components of transformational leaders noted by Warrilow (2012) were:
- 1.
Charisma or idealized in that the leader has a clear set of values that others can follow.
- 2.
Inspirational motivation to influence through a demonstrated clear vision.
- 3.
Intellectual stimulation in the form of a framework for others to follow.
- 4.
Personal and individual attention are given to subordinates.
On the other hand, transactional leaders focus on routines and set of rules. These leaders micromanage subordinates. Also, rewards or discipline are provided in exchange for performance. Subordinates are provided with a list of criteria and leaders judge them based on how well the criteria are met.
According to Scouller and Chapman (2020), purpose, morality, and timescale differentiate transformational and transactional leaders. There is a shared purpose between transformational leaders and their subordinates. However, maintaining the status quo is the only commonality between transactional leaders and their subordinates. Moreover, morality only exists with transformational leaders. Transactional leaders may me moral or immoral. As for time, transactional leaders focus on short-term goals, but the focus of transformational leaders are on long-term goals.